Perry-Jackson is a former engineer with the United States Army. He also worked with Electronics and Communication Engineering at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Perry-Jackson attended the Houston SaberCats Combines this past Summer and was signed to a contract as a wing.

Houston SaberCats & Rugby Promotion

Each Major League Rugby team is expected to not only promote professional rugby in the area, but is also expected to build an Academy program. This requires developing linkages with high schools and colleges in the area. It also requires appearing on the news, doing promotional clinics and in having coaches and players involved in the community.

The Houston Chronicle provided insight into the process of finding talented players like Willie Perry-Jackson from combines, as well as from other sources. Fitzpatrick said “I’m a firm believer in the cream rising to the top.” “Those that have the ability and the want to be a professional rugby player will appear on the radar. And we will pick them up and give them their opportunity.”

The search for players is extensive and The Houston Chronicle described the geographic task Fitzpatrick and his staff faced. “Between the trips all across the Greater Houston area – at 10,062 square miles, only slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts – the combines and the hyper-accelerated grapevine of the close-knit Houston rugby community, Fitzpatrick is confident that anyone with the desire and ability to play for him will have the chance.”

Why will rugby succeed in Houston

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States with an estimated 2017 population of 2.4 million people. The Greater Houston metropolitan area, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is a nine-county metropolitan area that is the fifth largest in the country with over 6.5 million people.

When non playing residents of this area see this action packed sport, the fan base will continue to grow. That is why it is essential for all Houston SaberCats to promote rugby locally. The team is off to a flying start with players like Willie Perry-Jackson spreading the rugby message in Houston.

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